Cold freezes plans for live New Year’s Eve performances on Parliament Hill
Some New Year’s Eve plans across the country are being put on ice thanks to a cold snap not expected to break until next week.
What’s projected to be one of the coldest New Year’s Eves in Ottawa in nearly two decades saw organizers of the party on Parliament Hill announce Friday they’re scaling back the event, cancelling live music performances but keeping a fireworks display and light show.
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said while Canadians were able to manage all the snow that fell around last New Year’s Eve, this year the cold was proving to be too much. According to Environment Canada, the forecast for Sunday evening is -27 C.
Hip hop artist Kardinal Offishall was among the artists to perform on Parliament Hill Sunday night. News of the cancellation prompted him to post his displeasure.
“Noooooooooo!!!,” read a message on his official Twitter account.
“Damn you frigid temperatures !!!! ”
Organizers of a New Year’s Eve party in Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square scaled back their plans, too, bumping the party ahead to just before midnight with a countdown and fireworks display. The event was previously scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and include live music and dance performances.
In Montreal, a huge New Year’s Eve party to cap the city’s 375thbirthday celebrations will go ahead as planned but organizers are expecting attendance to drop because of cold-weather warnings. The weather there is forecast to be -26 C.
In Quebec City, where it’s forecast to be -15 C, André Verreault of Action Promotion Grande Allée said residents are accustomed to the cold. “This is Quebec City. It’s a winter city. We have lots of beautiful white snow … We’re not cancelling anything,” Verreault said.